Rockets good to last drop in weird, wet win

There were two rain delays at an NBA game Saturday night, a curious occurrence followed by another strange turn of events: The Houston Rockets built a 25-point lead, lost all of it and then some, then rallied from five down late in the fourth quarter for a 114-107 win over the Washington Wizards.

Long after the stoppages of 35 and 22 minutes because of a leak in the roof at Verizon Center in Washington, James Harden tied the score with a driving layup with 2:33 to play, then gave Houston the lead again — this time for good — with a three-point play with 1:54 remaining. He finished with 25 points to lead the Rockets, who made only four field goals in the final period yet closed with a 17-5 run.

John Wall led Washington’s comeback and finished with 23 points and 10 assists, Trevor Ariza had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Seraphin scored all of his 18 points in the second half. The Wizards lost their fourth straight at home and fell to 2-14 against teams that are currently .500 or better.

Houston center Dwight Howard, who had 23 points, did the most to entertain fans during interruptions in play. Officials stopped play nine seconds into the second quarter and again at the start of the second half. Two trash cans and an array of towels were spread at the midcourt line during the first delay to catch the apparent remnants of heavy rains.

Howard passed the time with a couple of young fans who had been sitting in the front row, playing at blocking their shots.

New York 102, at Philadelphia 92: Amare Stoudemire had 21 points as the Knicks won their fourth straight.

at Detroit 110, Phoenix 108: Josh Smith’s driving bank shot with 1.2 seconds left won it as the struggling Pistons surprised the Suns.

at Oklahoma City 101, Milwaukee 85: Kevin Durant scored 33 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 points and 17 rebounds, and the Thunder snapped a two-game skid.

at Toronto 96, Brooklyn 80: DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points as the Raptors ended the Nets’ five-game winning streak.

at Chicago 103, Charlotte 97: The Bulls won their fifth straight. D.J. Augustin had 20 points and 12 assists, and Joakim Noah had 19 points and 14 rebounds.

at Denver 120, Orlando 94: Seven Nuggets scored in double figures in the team’s fifth straight win.

at Dallas 110, New Orleans 107: Dirk Nowitzki’s season-high 40 points helped the Mavericks hold off the Pelicans.

at Portland 112, Boston 104: LaMarcus Aldridge’s 21 points and 13 rebounds led the Trail Blazers.